EBMUD Will Start Testing Tap Water at All Oakland ...

The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), in partnership with East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), this week began a new round of lead testing of water at all school sites.

Lead testing at school taps began Thursday morning. All OUSD-run K-12 schools will be tested, as will some charter schools.

This EBMUD effort in cooperation with OUSD-run testing began in August. OUSD has tested about 70 schools so far and expects to complete the rest of the testing, along with EBMUD, within the next few weeks.

The testing effort, which is part of a state move to test all schools in California, is free to the school district.

According to EBMUD, its tap water meets and surpasses all state and federal drinking water standards.

EBMUD testing teams will visit each school, test five pre-chosen high-use water sources, such as faucets and fountainheads. Testing will be conducted in the early morning hours, after at least six hours of non-use.

This first-draw sample allows for testing water that has been sitting in pipes and fixtures where lead may be present.

“We are excited by this partnership, and we know that this work by EBMUD will lead to greater peace of mind among our students, families and staff. Also, it is already leading us to new collaboration between our two agencies around water meters, drought-resistant plants, and other water saving measures,” said OUSD Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell.

For more information about OUSD’s overall water testing effort, go to www.ousd.org/waterquality.